Darwin Nunez left in no man's land as ex-Liverpool striker is AXED by new club
Darwin Nunez has found himself out in the cold in Saudi Arabia after the former Liverpool striker was omitted from Al-Hilal's squad in order to make room for Karim Benzema.
The Uruguay star, 26, left the Premier League champions after making just eight starts in the Reds' title-winning 2024-25 campaign, with Liverpool taking a significant hit on the £85million package they agreed with Benfica to bring him to Anfield in the first place.
Since his move to the Middle East, Nunez has scored seven goals in 23 games for the Saudi Pro Leaguekingpins - but he was been axed from their 25-man squad following their capture of Benzema.
Saudi clubs are limited to eight foreign players born prior to 2003 in their squad and with Benzema, formerly of Real Madrid, coming in during the winter window, Nunez has become the odd man out.
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That means the former Benfica man is only eligible to play five more games this season - all in the AFC Champions League.
"The decision was difficult, but that's the job of a coach. He makes many decisions every day, even in every training session," the Al-Hilal head coach, Simone Inzaghi said after Nunez and former Arsenal defender Pablo Mari were left out of the 25-man squad.
"Nunez and Pablo are good players. I want them in all competitions, but we know the restrictions on registering foreign players. We couldn't register Marcos Leonardo as a player born in Saudi Arabia. Time was of the essence, and I made the difficult decision. I calmly informed the excluded players of my decision."
Benzema, 38, rejected the chance to ink a contract extension with Al-Ittihad in order to pursue a switch to Al-Hilal, who swooped in to snap up the Frenchman.
Inzaghi waxed lyrical about Benzema's pedigree after watching him excel in Europe for years with Real Madrid before making the move to the Saudi Pro League, claiming his quality will make Al-Hilal better "in every aspect".
He added: "Everyone knows Benzema. He's a great champion. He doesn't need to score a hat-trick to show his potential. We're happy to have him in the team - he benefits us in every aspect, not just on the pitch."
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